A Nation Shaken by the Grassroots: Mutsumi Kyato and the Rise of Environmental NGOs (1995)

A Nation Shaken by the Grassroots: Mutsumi Kyato and the Rise of Environmental NGOs (1995)

In the 1990s, Japan was facing global environmental challenges such as the urban-rural divide, excessive development and waste problems, and global warming after the collapse of the bubble economy. Against this backdrop, it was a time when "citizens' voices" were finally beginning to reach the frontlines of environmental policy. One of those leading the way was Mutsumi Kyato, chairman of the "Japan Environment Council.

In the midst of the Environment Agency's enactment of the "Basic Environmental Law" (1993) and the "Global Environmental Conservation Action Plan" (1994), Kyato was the one who openly appealed that "the environment cannot be protected by law and administration alone. What she promoted was an attempt to visualize the knowledge and activities of citizen groups nationwide and to confront the government with the existence of citizens as "another actor in environmental policy.

Symbolic of this effort was the publication of the "Environmental NGO Directory," which in 1995 had more than 4,500 registered NGOs with a surprisingly wide range of activities, from urban recycling networks to satoyama conservation, coastal cleanup, environmental education, and the movement to end nuclear power generation. Kyato compiled this information into a single volume and distributed it to all local governments in an attempt to create a point of contact between citizens, government, and business.

She believes in "using the power of networking to amplify the small voices that the government misses. This was her belief and the first opportunity for grassroots collaboration to influence environmental policy. At the time, the terms "NPO" and "NGO" were not yet widespread in Japan, and citizen movements were relegated to the periphery in comparison to corporate- and government-led initiatives.

She has also been actively organizing joint meetings and policy workshops with the Environment Agency and local governments, emphasizing "dialogue" and "joint action," rather than merely criticizing the government. Her "field-oriented policy concept" of reflecting the practical knowledge that lies dormant in local communities in institutional design is said to have influenced the regional collaboration model of the "Basic Environmental Plan" that followed.

Mutsumi Kato's activities have transformed environmental issues from something that "someone else does" to something that "we are responsible for. In an era that is seeking a departure from a focus on economic growth, her voice has indeed opened a "circuit of the environment" that connects the state and citizens.